Bound by Love (Russian Connection 2)

The brief happiness was replaced by a jolt of panic as she pulled back to regard him with an unreadable expression. “There is something you have forgotten to offer me.”

“Leonida?”

“When we were in the garden you.

“No, my dove,” he groaned, pressing his lips to her mouth in a quick, silencing kiss. “Please do not remind me. I cannot bear to recall how I behaved. I was an ass.”

He lifted his head to discover her regarding him with a startlingly mischievous expression.

“You were, but you did offer me the full and complete use of your body.” Her hands shifted to run her fingers through his tousled hair. “Is that no longer to be included in your proposal?”

“Christ.” He breathed out a shaky sigh of relief, resting his forehead against hers. “Tease me again and I will toss you over my shoulder and take you to the nearest priest.”

Her wicked chuckle tightened his muscles with an equally wicked pleasure. “You did not answer my question.”

Shifting to ensure his body protected her from the gazes of the gathered men, Stefan gripped her hips and pressed her hard against his rising erection.

“Do you need further proof?” he asked huskily.

Heat flooded her cheeks, assuring Stefan that he was not the only one suffering from a frustrated hunger.

Good.

It was not at all fair that he should be alone in his need. Besides, he could always hope her desire for him would urge her into a swift wedding.

A very swift wedding.

“Perhaps when we have a bit more privacy,” she said.

He groaned at her soft promise. “Does this mean you agree to be my wife?”

Like the sun breaking through the clouds, a slow smile lit her face.

“Did I ever have a choice?”

His laughter filled the air. “Never.”

EPILOGUE

THE WEDDING OF THE Duke of Huntley and Miss Leonida Karkoff was a quiet, simple affair attended only by the Countess, the Emperor and Herrick Gerhardt.

There would be another wedding once they reached Surrey, of course, to satisfy the demands of the Church of England, but none who attended the ceremony could doubt that even the most lavish affair could surpass the solemn beauty of Stefan and Leonida exchanging their vows.

Had two people ever gazed at one another with such love?

At last the wedding party made their way to the ship waiting to carry the couple to England. After tearful goodbyes the Emperor returned to the Summer Palace, while the Countess entered her carriage and disappeared from the dock.

Climbing onto his waiting horse, Herrick headed toward his home, only to come to an abrupt halt mere blocks from the dock. Damn. He had hoped he could dismiss the worry that had been needling him throughout the morning. Instead, it was only becoming more persistent.

Although Nadia had appeared genuinely delighted as she watched her daughter become the Duchess of Huntley, there had been a sadness in her dark eyes that haunted him.

He would not be capable of settling down until he discovered what was troubling the Countess.

Wryly acknowledging he was worse than a meddlesome old woman, Herrick altered his route, at last halting his horse before Nadia’s lovely home. Then, climbing the steps, he allowed the butler to show him to a back parlor.

Stepping over the threshold, he found Nadia standing next to a fire that blazed in the marble fireplace, appearing far younger than her years in a pale blue gown over a silver satin slip with a row of silver roses that trailed over her shoulders and down the low-cut back. It was little wonder that the Emperor had found her an irresistible temptation.

She glanced up at his entrance, a hint of curiosity in her dark eyes.